


Downtime and Dragons

by Faeruy



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Characters Play Dungeons & Dragons, Crack, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Herding Cats, Lowkey Romances, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Rule of Funny, Silly, Suffering Weiss Schnee, Volume 7 (RWBY), battle flirting, just here to have a good time, mostly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:33:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29628450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faeruy/pseuds/Faeruy
Summary: Set roughly in the first half of Volume 7, Ruby discovers that most of her friends have a day off all at the same time. Luckily, she has a plan for that. Involving a strategy game that is sure to stretch everyone's imagination and communication skills. That is, if she can keep them on the rails. But when dice, luck, dragons, and Team RWBY and JNR are involved, chaos will likely reign.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Kudos: 19





	1. Session Zero

**Author's Note:**

> So I like RWBY, I like writing RWBY, and I also enjoy Dungeons and Dragons, so when this story started bouncing around in my head, I couldn't resist it. There's a lot of my experience as DM seeping though, especially when it comes to player behavior.

Ruby couldn't believe it when she looked at the schedule. Her vision grew misty. It was like nothing she had seen since becoming a real Huntress in Atlas. She stared at the screen for a moment longer, and then went tearing down the hallways back to RWBY's dorm.

"YAAAAANG! WE HAVE A FREE DAY!"

Not just any free day. In two days' time,  _ nobody _ from either JNR or RWBY had anything on the schedule and Ironwood had commandeered the training room for him and Oscar to train. She felt a bit bad for Oscar, but it meant that she could finally put a certain plan of hers into action. Everything was ready for it, now all she had to do was get everyone else on board. That would be the most difficult part. Ruby knew she had Jaune and Yang’s full backing, Nora was willing to do anything, Ren would probably be amenable, and Blake would do it if Yang asked. Weiss on the other hand, would take some coaxing.

* * *

“Please Weiss?” Ruby let her lower lip tremble and shrunk down a little to look up at her partner with a kicked-puppy expression. She knew it was usually the most effective way to get Weiss to do what she wanted.

“Absolutely not.” Came the immediate reply. ‘Most effective’ was a very low bar. Still, Ruby persisted. 

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“Still no.”

“Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“Are you obtuse?”

“What?” Ruby paused, not expecting that particular insult. She shook her head. “No! I just think it would be really fun, but it wouldn’t be any fun without you. I’ll do whatever you want! I’ll bring you coffee for the next two weeks of morning briefing, I’ll let you pick our next job, I’ll… I’ll…” Ruby trailed off, trying to think of something to sweeten the pot for the former heiress.

“You’ll owe me a favor.” Weiss said, with a put-upon sigh and an exaggerated eye roll. “To be determined later. Fine. I’ll join this silly little game…”   
  
“Strategy exercise!”

“I’m not calling it that, Ruby.” Weiss’s last statement went completely ignored, and the white-haired Huntress found herself lifted off the ground as her partner attempted to squeeze her to death. 

“THANK YOU!!!!”

* * *

“Alright everyone,” Ruby said as all of her friends sat around a very large table. A gridded map covered most of it, while papers and dice took up what little was left. Ruby stood at one end, looking over a screen that on her side contained many, many notes and reminders. Everyone looked at her expectantly, some with excitement (Jaune and Nora), some with curiosity (Ren, Yang, and Blake) and some with barely concealed disdain (Weiss). “I’m glad all of you were able to make it for the strategy exercise. Marrow assures me that it’ll be really helpful in practicing communication skills and team cohesion. And that it’ll be loads of fun! You all have the basic rules in front of you, and anything else, we’ll just figure out as we go, okay?”

“This is… a fantasy roleplaying game?” Blake murmured as she looked over one of Ruby’s handouts. “What part of this has to do with strategy again?” 

“Umm… you’ll see!” Ruby chirped brightly. “Right then. Why don’t we start by going around and introducing your roles? Nora, you’re up first!” She pointed to the redhead next to her.

“Sure! I’m playing…” Nora squinted at her sheet. “Wait… I’m playing Nora? Aren’t we supposed to have fake names for this or something?” 

“I thought about it, but no one else has really played before…”

“Except me!” Jaune piped up.

“...except Jaune, and I thought it would be easier if we kept it simple. At least this time.” A sly grin spread across Ruby’s face. She hoped that there would be more games like this. If they could ever find the time. And maybe she could get Oscar and Penny to join.

“Cool. Right. So I’m Nora, and I’m playing a… dwarf? Paladin?” Nora scrunched up her face, not entirely sure she had read that correctly. “Oh, so like… I get to hit stuff?”

“Yeah. And occasionally you can supercharge your hits. In this game you’ll be following the God of Storms, and he’ll help you out from time to time. You can do some cool spells too.” Ruby said, hoping Nora liked it. She shouldn’t have worried, as soon as she mentioned supercharging, Nora’s face brightened considerably.

“Sweet! And I’m a dwarf, so does that mean I have a beard?”

“I mean.. You don’t  _ have _ …”   


“Aw yeah, Nora the dwarf definitely has a beard! It’ll be epic!” Nora was practically standing on her chair and she pulled the tail of Ren’s braid over her mouth in some strange parody of a moustache. Ruby gave her a thumbs up, and then indicated for Ren to go next.

“I’m playing Ren, a half-elven monk.” He said, gently trying to tug his hair back from Nora. Everyone waited for a moment to see if he would elaborate further, but when it was clear he wouldn’t, Weiss, who was sitting at the other end of the table from Ruby sighed and started to speak.

“Weiss, a high elf wizard.” She said, with an utter lack of enthusiasm.

“Oh man, that’s the best combo! They can do so much cool stuff! Elven wizard was one of my first characters…. His name was…” Jaune started to trail off onto a tangent.

“No one cares Jaune.” Weiss snapped before he could get too far, but she seemed slightly mollified by Jaune’s assurance, and a small smile crept unbidden to her face. “Well, I guess I should be thankful that I got the best…”

“I mean, everyone’s awesome in their own way.” Ruby said far more quickly than she intended. “But it just seemed like it would fit you… erhmm… Blake? I think you’re next.”

“Hmm?” Blake looked up suddenly, her ears twitching. Next to her, Yang stifled a giggle. “Sorry. Um, so my character is a tabaxi rogue. Ruby, what’s a tabaxi?”

“Kinda like a cat faunus, except way more cat-like. Way… way more.” Jaune answered before Ruby could get the words out.

“Really?” Blake’s eyes narrowed, like she was trying to figure out if she was being insulted or not. 

“They’re super agile! It was either that or like… a halfling, but I figured tabaxi would be better. And it’s… kind of what I wanted to play if I wasn’t running the game.” Ruby said, her face as red as her cloak, watching her friend’s expression. Blake held her gaze a little bit longer, visibly softened and nodded. Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to her sister, who was already wearing a shit-eating grin.

“I’m playing Yang, a gold dragon barbarian!” She pumped her fist in the air, clearly pleased with that turn of events.

“Wait like an actual dragon?” Ren asked. “Aren’t they like… huge?”

“No! She means Dragon _ born _ . They’re like tabaxi, only dragon-like instead of cat.” Somehow Ruby had expected the introductions to go much faster, and she was very glad she decided to give them pre-made characters. It would have taken forever otherwise.

“And I can breathe FIRE!” 

“Yes, Yang, you can breathe fire. Sometimes.” Ruby was glad for her excitement at least. She could also see Blake looked happier, probably because she wasn’t going to be the only one who had animal traits in the game. She pulled on Yang’s arm and the pair started whispering to each other; comparing the character sheets they were given. Ruby turned to her last player. “Jaune?”

“Human cleric.” He replied easily. “Too… the God of Light, it looks like. Neat! I like playing support characters.”

“Good. Let’s begin!” Ruby cleared her throat and drew herself up to her full height, trying to look authoritative as she began the tale. 

* * *

_ It was a dark and stormy night in the town of Mir, a normally sleepy little place that no one paid any attention to. But something had changed recently; in recent weeks, townsfolk have gone missing, strange howls have been heard in the night, and light appeared in the window of a tower that had been abandoned for centuries. You, aspiring adventurers all, had received a message from a mysterious stranger, asking for your help. You were told to meet them tonight, at the back table of the Cozy Nook Inn. So one by one you arrive, soaking wet, tired from a long day’s journey, and head up to the bar. Behind the bar is a tired looking old man with grey hair, cleaning a glass. _

“I punch the bartender.”

“YANG! You can’t just punch the bartender!”

“Why not? I thought this game was about making choices! And Yang the dragon doesn’t like the look of him.”

“Yeah! He seems evil. I’m gonna hit him too!” Nora roared.

Ruby sighed heavily.

This was going to be so much harder than she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this first chapter is going to read a bit different than the next few. Plan is to switch around POV characters, and the next chapters will be more firmly entrenched in the fantasy world Ruby creates. There's still going to be plenty of meta-interruptions, just because I think it's funny. We'll see how well it goes! I'm expecting to do at least 8 chapters total, though it could be more. 
> 
> Also, I definitely spent way too much time thinking about which character would be which class. (There's a reason Ruby's the DM - she's way harder to categorize for me). I do have subclasses in mind for all of them as well, but because I don't intend to stick too closely to D&D rules, I've decided to leave them out. It would probably just confuse most of them anyway.


	2. Roll for Initiative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang the gold dragonborn walks into a bar, and DOES NOT immediately punch the bartender. She does meet an intriguing stranger, however. Several of them.

Yang sidled up to the bar, about to ask the bartender for a drink _(No, you still can't start fighting the bartender)_ when the tabaxi next to her caught her eye. Shorter than her by at least a foot, and with her dark fur and dark leathers, she looked more like the type to disappear into the shadows. What caught Yang's attention, however, were the eyes; gold and sparking with barely controlled ire. Yang followed her gaze and realized that if she could throw daggers with her mind, the bartender would be dead many times over. The gold dragonborn leaned into the tabaxi's space, trying to get her attention. It wasn't hard; everything about Yang stood out, from her towering height, to the gleaming metallic of her scales, to the large battleaxe she carried on her back. It didn't take long for the tabaxi's focus to slide to her.

"Hey pretty kitty, having a bit of trouble?" Yang asked, baring her sharp teeth in an amused grin. Gold eyes narrowed further, and Yang could almost feel the daggers biting into her skin.

"Just my luck. Weather's been awful, roads were worse, I've been trying to get some information out of this guy, but I rolled a one…( _Blake! Stay in character!_ )... I mean, I'm having trouble… persuading him…" She sighed and looked at the golden dragon-like figure in front of her. "And now I'm being harassed by a lizard-brained barbarian. I need a drink."

"Sounds like you could use my help. Yo, bartender guy!" Yang shouted cheerfully, ignoring the insult. She seemed to have better luck getting his attention, mostly because of her booming voice, but she liked to think it was her natural charm. She waited until the bartender came over before she continued. "Two of your finest ales, and can you tell me where I can find someone called Blackbird?" The old man pointed to a shadowy corner in the back and turned away to grab a pair of steins. The tabaxi turned to Yang with a look of surprise on her face.

"How did you know I was looking for Blackbird?"

"I didn't. I got a message saying I should meet him here. You get one too?"

"Why... yes." The tabaxi's ears flattened, unsure and a little embarrassed. The bartender came back with the two steins foaming at the top. Yang passed one to Blake and offered her arm.

"Sweet! Let's stick together and meet this mysterious Blackbird. My name's Yang, by the way."

"Blake." Little black cat ears perked up again and Blake took the proffered arm. Yang grinned and the pair maneuvered their way to the back of the tavern.

_"Oh for pete's sake." Weiss muttered under her breath as she glared at Blake and Yang. "Can you two do us all a favor and just... not?"_

They found the table and were surprised to see not one, but five other people already seated around the table. A redheaded dwarf with a luxuriously braided beard and huge maul, a blonde man wearing shining armor and symbols of the God of Light, a haughty, pale elven woman who carried a slim blade, an ascetic half-elf who carried himself with dignity, and in the very corner sat a tall, lanky man who greeted the pair with a lazy salute.

"Ah the last to arrive. Hiya firecracker… and shadow." He said in a low, rough voice. ( _Wait. Ruby, is that supposed to be Uncle Qrow?)_ Yang and Blake took the last two seats and waited for something resembling enlightenment. "Glad you all responded to my summons. As you may have guessed, I am Blackbird, and I've called you all here for a very important quest."

The group of strange adventurers listened as Blackbird gave them all the details. He told them his intelligence found that an evil sorcerer had decided to make their home in the abandoned tower a few miles from town. Why they chose that tower and this town to work their dark magics was unknown, but it was wrecking havoc on the town. Blackbird thought the problem wouldn't stay small, at least not for long, and he wanted it to be dealt with before more people died. He told them he had asked them in particular because their reputations preceded them; they were all strong, fair-minded individuals. 

"And one more thing." He continued. Yang was surprised; he sounded almost sheepish about this, a far cry from the no-nonsense confidence he had projected earlier. "The sorcerer has a prisoner. Not many people know about this, and we're trying to keep it a secret. You see, the sorcerer has kidnapped the princess."

They all looked around the table as that bit of information sank in. No wonder Blackbird had asked for secrecy, and a larger group like this. The princess was beloved in the land and was the king's only heir; if it came out that she had been taken, it would throw the whole kingdom into an uproar. Mercenaries would come from everywhere, demanding exorbitant amounts of gold. Malcontents would join the side of the sorcerer, seeing that the monarchy was weak. Nobles would try to jocky for position, knowing that the only heir to the throne was likely a goner. It would be madness.

And Blackbird trusted this group to stop them.

"I promise, if you succeed in your task, you will be well compensated. And any spoils of the tower shall be yours. It will be a dangerous mission, so I would spend tonight getting to know each other and preparing yourselves, and set out first thing in the morning. We're counting on you." With that, Blackbird stood up and headed out the door of the tavern.

"Wait!" The white-haired elf cried out, and sprinted to the door to try and catch the man. "I've got more questions…." She threw open the door into the dreary night air, but there was no sign of the tall man; only a loud cawing in the night. 

_"I knew it was Uncle Qrow!" Yang said, elbowing Blake. "Wanna bet Ruby made everyone we know characters in this?"_

_"Loser pays for dinner?" Blake asked with a sly grin._

The elf turned back to the group with a defeated sigh and slid back to her seat at the table. They all looked at each other awkwardly until Yang stood up.

"Well now. Suppose we outta get to know each other, like he said. Who's up for a round of drinks?" She said with a toothy grin. That seemed to cheer everyone up immensely and soon they were swapping names, exchanging stories, and sizing each other up. Yang and Nora got into an arm-wrestling match, which Yang won. ( _Stupid dice! I want new ones)_ Weiss sat in the corner, reading over a spell book, thinking ahead to tomorrow's adventure.

Which was why she was the first one to notice the group of black-armored ruffians entering the tavern. It didn’t take long for everyone else to notice them as well.

“Everyone! You have one minute to leave this tavern, or else!” A short woman shouted, the clear leader of the group.

“What? Why? And who the hell are you?” Yang asked, her hand going to her shield and battleaxe, already preparing for a fight. Besides her, Blake pulled two long, light swords, ready to go.

“We are the Bastion Ardent, and by the order of the Supreme Ascendant, we claim this town in their Name. All its citizens now belong to us, and we’re ordering this tavern closed for it’s unnecessary frivolity.” The leader said, glaring at the tall golden figure. “You now have thirty seconds.”

“Better idea. How about I kick your ass instead?” Yang said, then looked to the dark tabaxi besides her. “What do you say? You with me?” There was an enigmatic glint in Blake’s eyes as she melted into the shadows. From nearby, she got another shout.

“Oh yeah, I’ve been waiting for this! Let’s bring the THUNDER!” Nora shouted, rushing in with her giant hammer. Yang’s eyes blazed red, and the fight began in earnest.

The civilians in the tavern, aware there was about to be a massive brawl, made quickly for the door while the bartender cowered behind the counter. Everyone else, everyone who met with Blackbird sprang into action. Ren, Yang and Blake were first off the block, with Nora not far behind, and they found themselves in a whirling melee of metallic weapons and fast flying fists. Targeted bolts of magic energy singed black armor as Weiss stood in the corner, her blade moving with practiced flourishes. Jaune breathed calmly, sword and shield in hand, not appearing to do much. Yang noticed, however, that every so often, a blow that should have connected missed entirely and the eyes of her opponent were glazed over in a bright haze. 

It became clear very quickly though, that their strategy had some definite flaws; namely that there was no strategy. They all attacked different targets, Weiss’s bolts of energy came very close to hitting friends instead of foes. There were grim looks on everyone’s faces, frustration and annoyance evident. The other group saw their lack of cohesion and did their best to exploit it; one of them with a heavy sword backed Ren towards Jaune and managed to get a hit on the cleric, ruining his concentration. Yang could see one of the opponents heading towards Weiss, but was interrupted by an agonized yelp near her. She saw the leader of the band pull a blade out of Blake’s shoulder, glistening red with blood and a green sickly shimmer. Yang stopped her sprint towards Weiss and roared in anger. 

“Guys!” Jaune shouted, as he sprinted towards the elven wizard. “We need to focus.( _I told you this was a strategy game!)_ Twoof you should get the leader, two need to protect me and Weiss. Weiss, hit the lackeys with something big if you can. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you!” As soon as he said that, a warm light swirled around Blake's wound, bringing the flesh back together and slowing the flow of blood. She breathed a sigh of relief and placed a hand on the dragonborn's back to get her attention.

"You and me, take the leader?" She murmured low. "Leave protection duty to the monk and the dwarf?" Blake didn't wait for an answer as she disappeared into the shadows once again. The hand on the back was enough to focus Yang; she was still mad as anything, but now there was control behind it.

She went after the leader; a short angry woman who moved with incredible swiftness. She swung with her axe, but the woman dodged both strikes with ease, and tried to retaliate, keeping all of her attention on the large, shiny gold target. Completely ignoring the black shadow that popped up on her right side. Yang almost laughed as she watched Blake's blades flash faster than she could keep track of them. She saw spots of blood trickle from weak points in the armor, and couldn't help but admire it. Yang never bothered with such finesse; she bashed at things until they broke. Blake, on the other hand, was all elegance and cleverness. Behind them were the sounds of more fighting; the sick crunch of fist against bone, the bellow of a dwarf ready to send anyone and everyone to hell. She could see the black armor of the Bastion Ardent closing in on them, ready to join the fray.

Then… _KABOOM_

A loud shockwave of thunder rippled through the entire group knocking most of them off their feet. _(Told you Weiss, wizards are awesome!)_ Only two stayed standing; the leader, and a tall woman who seemed rooted to the spot. Everyone else moaned and mewled on the ground. Yang didn't care if she kicked them as she moved around the leader, trying to keep her from focusing too long on either her or Blake.

"Come on, hit me!" She snarled. Her battleaxe shone orange and red in the low flickering candlelight, as she brought it down for another set of blows. This time she was ready for her opponent's speed and the sharp edge of her axe cut cleanly through black armor. There was a scream, and a flash of steel, and Yang felt a stinging sensation in her side. But before another strike of the blade could hit her, Blake was there. "Love it when you're feisty." Yang grinned, which quickly turned into a wince as the sting in her side worsened. The tabaxi's gold eyes held a glint of amusement, but otherwise seemed occupied with the task at hand. The two of them fell into a comfortable rhythm, flanking and kiting and wearing down their opponent, until they found an opening. Then it was Yang who struck. Ignoring the pain, she came charging in; battleaxe held high above her head, and brought it crashing down onto her opponent, nearly cleaving her in half. Warm, red blood spattered across her, and she could taste iron on her tongue. There was a strangled cry, cut short, and the sickening sound of guts and innards hitting the wood floor of the tavern. There was going to be a massive mess to clean up later, and Yang couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor soul who was going to have to clean up after them, scrubbing at blood and brain matter.

_"Are these descriptions necessary?" Ren asked. "Jaune's looking kinda green." All eyes turned towards Jaune, who definitely looked like he was trying to hold something back._

_"What? No! I'm fine! I'm fine! Keep going." He said, unconvincingly. Ruby gave him a pitying look and leaned over her screen to pat him on the shoulder._

Yang and Blake turned from their own battle to see that somehow, while they were busy, the other four managed to dispatch the only other one still standing. They looked satisfied, if a tad tired, and Nora threw them a triumphant thumbs up from where she leaned on her hammer. All of the black-armored people who attacked them were either unmoving, or slowly crawling towards the door of the tavern. Yang spotted one; and grabbed him by the scruff before he could leave.

"Nuh-uh." She said. "We've got some questions for you." She glared at him, and suddenly she felt another sharp stab in her gut. Her vision blurred and dimmed and the world seemed to shrink around her.

"Yang!" A terrified voice called out. It was the last thing she heard.

_"Really Ruby? I got shanked?!"_

_"It's not my fault! I rolled really well for his slight of hand attack! Besides, it's not like you're going to die." Ruby put her hands up, as if warding off her sister's rage._

_"Nope. Yang the dragon is definitely going to die. I feel all faint and woozy. Blake! Save me!" Yang put a hand to her forehead and pitched herself heavily towards her partner. She clearly miscalculated her angle as her elbow managed to hit something on the table, sending dice flying into the air. The partners dissolved into giggles, even as they were pelted with falling dice._

_"Right, while Yang deals with her mess, let's continue." Ruby said with a sigh._

While Jaune and Blake dealt with an unconscious dragonborn, Ren took over their prisoner.

"Tell me everything about the Bastion Ardent." He said quietly, but there was no mistaking the threat in his assertion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NGL, It took me awhile to settle on how I was gonna handle player interruptions, but I think I'm pretty happy with the result. My hope is that it's mostly clear who's interrupting when not outright stated... but well... It's probably going to continue to be something I play with.


	3. Persuasion Check

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of their first fight, there's definitely some clean up to do and plans to make.

Ren had to repeat his threat, because the conscious Bastion Ardent guard was staring at Nora as she held her hammer casually over her shoulder, nonchalantly intimidating. Ren couldn't really blame him; Nora was a force of personality, and obviously dangerous. 

"The Bastion Ardent are the loyal followers of the Supreme Ascendant." The thug ended up saying, finally turning his gaze to Ren, who sighed.

"Yes, we know. Your leader mentioned that before we killed her. I want more than that. Who is the Supreme Ascendant? Why do you follow them? How many of you are there? What do you want with this town?" 

"I don't know." Their prisoner said. Ren looked to Nora, and they both contemplated him. Nora looked away after a moment and shrugged, clearly thinking he was useless.  _ (STUPID DICE! Ren, switch with me please.)  _ The monk, however, with his insightful nature, saw a lot more. He saw a man who was scared. He was definitely hiding what knew but it wasn’t just fear of them that prompted his silence. Ren couldn’t tell exactly what, but he knew there was something. He made a motion to Nora to relax, simmer down, and was grateful when she got the message. She nodded and went to check over the bodies of the fallen guards, while Ren stayed behind.

“Look.” He said softly. “I know you’re lying. You know something. You can help us. And we can help you.” Ren was satisfied to see surprise in his prisoner’s face. “We’re not bad people.  _ (You don’t know that!) _ I’m not a bad person. I’m here to bring balance. I don’t harm unless I have to. Clearly, the same cannot be said of this… Supreme Ascendant. If you help us stop them from hurting anyone else, I can make sure that you’re free to live life as you choose.” Ren hoped he read him correctly. Hoped that he was reasonable. He also hoped that his own more… volatile teammates would understand and respect the deal he was making.

_ “Who are you calling volatile?” Nora said, pouting next to him. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Nora’s pout melted under the soft contact, but she wasn’t the only one who decided to take umbrage. _

_ “Just because I’m a barbarian doesn’t mean I’m a total asshole!” Yang complained. “I wouldn’t just kill an unarmed person for no reason.”  _

_ “I would.” Weiss sniffed. “He tried to kill us and he’s being obstinate.” _

_ “And that’s why I was referring to you.” Ren said calmly, ignoring the way Weiss’s face turned several shades of pink.  _

“So…” The poor man said, shifting in his seat. “Look… I’m not sure I believe you. Not if you knew, really, but…” His eyes darted about the room, looking at his fallen companions who were now being thoroughly and methodically stripped of their armor. He took a deep breath. “My name is Pith. The Supreme Ascendant… she’s… the sorcerer living in the tower.” He took a deep breath. “She’s powerful. Really powerful. And smart. And she… promised.” He looked down at his hands in his lap, and Ren once again got the overwhelming sensation that he was hiding something. Something deeper than giving up information about a sorcerer.

“Promised what?” He asked. Ren looked at Pith, searching, and for a moment, he saw it; a flash of gold in his eyes, lips baring back to reveal fangs. Suddenly the man seemed much taller than he did before; almost looming over Ren. There were no more words; only a low pitched, guttural growl from Pith. Ren suddenly wondered if he had made a huge mistake. Without any further warning, there was a crack, and Pith slumped to the ground. Standing above him with a cheery grin on her face was Nora. 

“So I think he’s a werewolf.” She said brightly, nudging the unconscious figure with her hammer. “Good thing I was there to save your butt. He looked like he wanted to eat you. And I got dibs.” _ (NORA! What does that even mean?!)  _ She flipped him over to inspect him further, and Ren saw what he’d been too close to see earlier - the fur growing on the nape of his neck, the slight lengthening of the snout, and even the tail that had sprouted. He had definitely started to shift into a wolf-like creature. 

“So what do you think she promised him?” Ren asked. Nora just gave a noncommittal noise as she bent down to examine the pouches on his belt. Something tugged at his mind. Pith had been scared, that was for sure, and seemed relatively reasonable before the shift started. He also knew that werewolves were hunted, and usually for good reason; their instincts in shifted form were strong, and dangerous to people around him. Did the Supreme Ascendant promise to remove his curse? Revenge? Something more nefarious? 

Did she intend to follow through with her promise, or was she just using him?

Ren didn’t know, and now that Pith was unconscious, he didn’t think he would ever get those answers. He should be mad at Nora for interrupting, but he couldn’t bring himself to be; she saved his life. He would have done the same thing if their positions were reversed. He sighed and looked at Nora, who held up something triumphantly.

“I found a map!” She said, waving a piece of paper in the air. She brought it down to look at it better and squinted, which had the effect of making her face disappear into the mass of ginger hair. “Wait… blueprints. I think. Of the tower maybe?” Nora passes it over to Ren, who takes a look at it, and passes it over to the white-haired elf who just walked up to them.

“Yeah. Blueprints. And something else.” Weiss muttered under her breath and waved her hand over the parchment. For a second it glowed blue, bright enough to blind them for a moment. Weiss blinked and glared at the parchment. “Ugh. Can’t figure out what it is though. Magic, I can tell that much, but…” She sighed, and stuffed the blueprint into a small satchel she carried. “I’ll figure it out later. Probably. At any rate, it’s still going to be useful once we get to the tower.  _ If _ we can get there without dying.” Weiss seemed very skeptical about that possibility. “But that’s all going to be a problem for tomorrow. We need to sleep tonight.”

“Can we even do that?” Ren asked. “The Bastion Ardent have already attacked once, why wouldn’t they attack again? Wouldn’t it be better to set off immediately, and try to take them all down before it becomes an even bigger problem?” He wasn’t exactly sure of the wisdom of that, but he didn’t enjoy the thought of letting the Bastion Ardent take down any more of the villagers. Weiss shook her head.

“Not a great idea.” She said. “Both Yang and Blake were poisoned, and healing them up has taken a lot out of Jaune. Who, along with Yang, can’t see in the dark, which puts them at a disadvantage at night. We’re not exactly full stocked up for a trek across dangerous territory, and the shops are currently closed. And…” Weiss’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “...well… I may have… overextended myself more than I should have. We need sleep, otherwise we’re going to be useless. Well, more useless than we already are.” Ren couldn’t argue the logic of her argument, but he felt like he was missing something.

“Does that mean you have money to pay for things? Because… I don’t.” He admitted, and looked to Nora, who shook her head. Weiss’s flush grew deeper, and Ren got the sense she was similarly strapped for gold. 

“I can.” The tabaxi popped up behind Weiss, jingling a pouch in her hand. There was a wicked smirk on her face. Ren was surprised; last he had seen the rogue, she was dealing with the unconscious dragonborn. “Turns out these Bastion Ardent people carry a decent amount of gold on them. Figured they wouldn’t be needing it anytime soon.”

_ “Okay, I’m getting tired of calling them the Bastion Ardent.” Blake said, her nose wrinkling in distaste. “It’s a cool name, but it doesn’t really roll off the tongue, it’s too long.” She looked around the table, her eyes landing on Yang. Ren wasn’t surprised; if anyone could come up with something, it would be Yang. The mischief in those lilac eyes told him that she did. _

_ “Why don’t we just call them Bast-ards?” Yang’s tone was entirely too innocent, but it didn’t last long as Blake started chuckling, and then both dissolved into laughter as Ruby screeched from behind her screen. _

_ “Yang!!! That’s not cool! I spent a long time coming up with that name!” By the sound of the giggles spreading through the table, however, it seemed like Ruby was going to be overruled. _

Ren gingerly took the pouch from Blake after she complained about the bartender not liking her, and went up to negotiate prices for rooms. He passed by Jaune and Yang, who looked much better than she did a few minutes ago and was already helping to clean up after their brawl. He didn’t really want to know what they planned to do with all of the bodies of the Bast-ards.( _ I hate you all.)  _ After an intense bargaining session, and some bribery, he managed to secure two rooms. He thought he did well, but the look on Weiss’s face when he returned with the news said otherwise. He didn’t miss her scan of the group, trying to determine the least objectionable roommates.

“You can share with me, Weiss!” Jaune piped up.

“Nope.” She shut him down, almost before he could finish the sentence.

“Blake and I will take one of the rooms.” Yang piped up almost immediately.

“Jaune, you can share with Nora and I. Weiss, you can bunk with Yang and Blake.” Ren said, placing a hand on Jaune’s shoulder. “Come on. We should all get some sleep. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.” He gently steered Jaune towards the stairs with the heavy footsteps of Nora following close behind. The tabaxi and the dragonborn took one look at each other, and then started to race for the stairs, somehow making a bigger racket then their fight did. 

“I regret everything.” Weiss said, rubbing her temples. “It’s a good thing I only need four hours of sleep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I base the Bastion Ardent off the Ace-ops? Yes. Are they called the Bastion Ardent because I wanted to be able to shorten it to Bastard? Also yes. I have no shame. 
> 
> For anyone who's familiar with D&D 5e, the group is at roughly level 7... I'm not going to get too fussy about any the mechanics. I would say Ren's subclass is closest to Way of The Open Hand (with some feat that's boosting his insight). Nora is a Vow of Glory Paladin.


End file.
